Go Green When You Clean

It seems to be the prevailing thought that you need a different cleaner for every job in the house and that disinfectants are necessary to prevent illness. Nothing could be further from the truth and the health of our environment could improve drastically if we consider a different way of going about this.

The list of harmful chemicals in cleaners runs very long. Some of these chemicals are causing damage at the level of the DNA and others cause endocrine dysruption. In either case, they induce changes in the physiology of the body that contribute to the development of a number of diseases, including cancer. The assumption by many consumers is that these products are regulated and therefore we are being protected from any possible toxic exposure. And the sad truth is, this simply is not the case. Synthetic chemicals may be introduced into use without any testing to validate their safety. Of the over 80,000 chemicals that have been produced, only 200 of them have been tested by the FDA and just 5 of those have been banned. This leaves the consumer in the position of trusting that the product manufacturers are looking after their health. With the number of chemicals in use that have been linked to low-dose toxicity and hormone disruption, we can safely assume that most manufacturers are not doing this.

Ultimately, we must implement regulation of synthetic chemicals that prevents their being used until they have been proven safe for human exposure. It is helpful for individuals to clean up their environment to improve their health, but continued use of these chemicals leads to their persistence in our ecosystems which threatens the safety of our water and air. Be a part of the change you would like to see and stay informed of how you can support legislation that will move us towards eliminating these stressors on our health and the environment. http://www.breastcancerfund.org/

So how do we protect ourselves and those we care about starting today? By trading in the household cleaning products for the techniques of old. Our homes don't need every new disinfectant and scrubbing bubble on the market. In fact, research has shown that homes that use synthetic disinfectants and anti-microbials are no less prone to infections than those that do not use these compounds and overuse of these contributes to the growing problem of anti-biotic resistence. Furthermore, many benign compounds can clean our homes nearly as effectively as the fandangled toxic products that are being pushed on us daily. Good old distilled vinegar will clean windows and hard surfaces, baking soda will help scrub away the tile residue and a number of essential oils will kill lots of those germs that you're worried about. And if you contest that these don't do as good of a job as the harsh store bought cleaners...consider this. Is the streak on the window or a bit of soap scum a small problem in comparison to the loss of good health? We think this is an appropriate thought to ponder.

So if you decide to get greener with your cleaners, we have a great resource for you. One of our go to research groups, Women's Voices for the Earth, has a list of easy green cleaning recipes to start you moving on the path to a less toxic home...and you can start breathing easier today!